…the setting would not matter if the event were not so very bizarre. 999 Green Street, “The Summit“, is a tower condo building from the “mid-century” completed around ’64… Originally rental units..but condo-ized pretty quickly.

Former SecState George Schultz and Charlotte Maillard (formerly our City’s Chief of Protocol) live in the top two floors, originally two penthouses, each two stories, with commanding views from the 31st and 32nd floors… now combined to one large, 2 story unit. They entertained Blair there two years ago… people left the festivities at Bohemian Grove (it was July) to come to that party. Party decor included ice sculptures of London Bridge…. and other tourist spots.

My old joke about 999 Green was that it was “built for the Revolution”… the base is massively concrete. Withstand anything.

Anyway, grace aWillie Brown, here is quite the small party that took place there, a few days ago:

I went to an unbelievable dinner party at Charlotte and George Shultz’s penthouse Monday night for retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki, the new secretary of veterans affairs.

The party was a Stanlee Gatti tour de force, complete with fatigue-wearing servers, camouflage table cloths, extras dressed up as snipers and a full Marine color guard and band.

It was like being in Afghanistan.

All this for about a dozen guests. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was there with his wife, Maria Shriver. Gavin Newsom was there with Jennifer, and boy is she showing.

I was seated next to Arnold, and he seemed to be holding up pretty well, considering the nightmare going on up in Sacramento.

The dessert: a chocolate replica of the Joint Chiefs of Staff seal, surrounded with vanilla ice cream and the Golden Gate Bridge in chocolate on each side.

Hard to beat the telling of it…

The interesting thing is that Willie is so far gone – and for so long, he completely misses the horror of the show. I never could stand him but 30 years ago he would have caught the ghastly drift.

Not now… he is the carcinogenic cherry on top, in a sense… an aged punk telling the spectacular story.

Like this:

Related

hmm piece up at Counterpunch with a somewhat generalist’s eye balling of progressive moves over the past decade in S America.

[W]hile it’s true that the most reactionary forces in the region see sinister motives behind Chavez’s generosity and do all they can to demonize the Venezuelan leader, the more obvious reason for the coup was the fact that Zelaya had called a referendum on the constitution, an act which has drawn a similar response from reactionaries in other countries in Latin America. The problems are the same: progressive leaders enter power on a wave of popular support only to find their hands bound by constitutions written by their neoliberal predecessors of the 1990s under the tutelage of Washington. The new leaders then face the choice of playing by the very limited rules of the neoliberal constitution or writing up a new charter. Even the proposal of new rules enrages the local oligarchy which, of course, was behind the neoliberal constitution in the first place, and the opposition to constitutions aimed at democratizing power has grown with each successive process. snip

The article closes on a sort of sensible, not irrational… ”hopeful” note. I’ll entertain the old swamp monster (that would be “hope”) too….

[W]hile it’s impossible to say how the coup in Honduras will play out, the new president sworn in on the day of the coup, Roberto Micheletti may fare only a little better than the unfortunate Pedro Carmona, President-for-a-day in Venezuela (April 12-13, 2002) when Chavez was briefly overthrown. Micheletti hasn’t a single ally in Latin America, and even the Empire now seems to be resigned to the fact that military coups are a thing of the past and has turned its back on him.

Elections and constitutions aimed at the transformation of nations in Latin America from “representative” to “participatory” democracy seem to be the wave of the future that even well-armed militaries will no longer be able to oppose.

[I]n the last “Black in America,” Soledad O’Brien, CNN’s designated tough love agent against the brothers and sisters, scolded a black man for not attending his daughter’s birthday party. The aim of this scene was meant to humiliate black men as neglectful fathers. Ms. O’Brien won’t be permitted by her employees to mention that 75% of white children will live at one time or another in a single parent household and that the Gov. of South Carolina’s not showing up for Father’s Day isn’t just a lone aberration in “White America.”

How would CNN promote a “White in America?” The thousands of meth addicts who have abandoned their children? The California rural and suburban white women who do more dope than Latino and black youth? The suburban Dallas white teenagers who are overdosing on “cheese” heroin? Why not? Can’t get State Farm, Ford and MacDonald’s to sponsor such a program? All of these companies are sponsoring “Black in America,” the aim of which is to cast collective blame on blacks for the country’s social problems. For ratings. snip

What was the U.S. role in the coup? Given the outward opposition, you’d think the answer was “none.” But it’s not so simple, because the U.S. (in the person of Hillary Clinton and no doubt many others) has been personally involved in “negotiations” between the coup-makers and President Zelaya before the coup (and was still promoting further “negotiations” after the coup). If the coup is reversed but manages to “tame” Zelaya, did it achieve the end that the U.S. (and the Honduran oligarchy) was after?

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted Tuesday that he saw his Argentine mistress more times than previously disclosed, including what was to be a farewell meeting in New York chaperoned by a spiritual adviser soon after his wife found out about the affair.

It’s never gonna enddddddddddd!

I heard he basically wept thru the interviews that are giving rise to all the new stories…

Talking on condition of anonymity, some Democratic strategists were even blunter. “Sixty is an imaginary number,” said one operative. “You are always going to lose the Ben Nelsons and all the centrists. This is why 2010 proves to be so important because it can set a buffer for that 60 threshold.”

“This is a story Jim Manley [Majority Leader Harry Reid’s press secretary] will love, but it has the virtue of being true,” the operative added.

“It’s true,” said Manley when reached by phone. “It is obviously sometimes difficult to say this to your audience [Huffington Post readers]. While this is, of course, good news to the people of Minnesota, President Obama, and the Senate Democratic, Franken’s mere presence alone will not mean that the Democrats will be able to jam through our agenda, or make it any less critical for Democrats and Republicans to work together. We have a diverse caucus who represent diverse constituencies. No one’s vote is ever automatic. Also… we have two senators that currently aren’t voting right now. But then I would go back and say that up until now we have gotten very little to no help from Republicans who say no against everything and are prepared to bet on this president to fail.”

No longer can the big banks hide behind the security of lax of Federal oversight, but must now contend with 50 separate state Attorneys General all vying for their pounds of flesh. If the lawsuits in the 90’s against Big Tobacco are any indication, Big Banking could now be in for a very rough ride.{Authors bolding}

<Snip}

It remains to be seen, of course, just how serious the Obama Administration is about putting its money where its mouth is on financial oversight, but Monday’s ruling is an important signal that the Court will not stand in the way of greater participation by state based watchdogs.

Finally, while the court’s bucking of a 145 year tradition to find in favor of consumers and against the banks is certainly notable, perhaps the most surprising part of the 5-4 decision is which Justices made up the majority.

SCALIA, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which STEVENS, SOUTER, GINSBURG, and BREYER, JJ., joined.

The thread is a scream. “All Hail to Scalia!” , the CW…
On the surface, arguably, an interpretation of the decision seems fair enough: “Let the State’s prosecute.”
In practice? Oh Lordy – it’s a dilution of Federal Power for jurisdiction shopping and “enforcement” (as a rule) in even weaker (if you can imagine) state AG and pushover Banking Commissions. take Cuomo’s present pot and pan rattling out of the picture (and they will) and the “State’s Rights” argument over banking mayhem will be turned and used with even more draconian skill against us riff-raff. A windfall for the politically connected legal retainers of all stripes Donklephant… billables to be billed, and splits to be plundered just like the tobacco kitty…Silly Pwogs. The decision will be lauded all around, it will affect nothingand is as likely to be regressive as it is to merely maintain the status quo..Scalia surely is laughing his ass off at such fools who laud him from the faux-Left.

Irony of ironies, there was another diary also on offer for the kosrubes..

Kentuckians Rely Heavily on “Payday” Loans
by RDemocrat

33 comments

Oh well – Change!
Let us rush forward (circa 1812)
to the State Banking Crisis
(circa LAST WEEK)

Two Georgia banks failed late Friday, the 13th and 14th bank failures in the state in the last nine months, signaling an acceleration of what some are considering the worst financial industry crisis in the state since the Great Depression.

What? We haven’t turned the corner?

有沒有錢？
LOL. (Loosely translated as “Got any money?”)

The thing that’s a joke is the utter irrelevance of the judicial dickies siding with Scalia on this one- They say™ they’re smart people tho, donchaknow…

This tid
was within the Atlanta Business Journal art
over Georgia Banks heading down the shitter.
And to think – amidst all this Good news –

“They’re ramping up a little bit,” said Chip MacDonald, Atlanta-based Jones Day banking attorney. “With their efforts to staff up, raise money for the deposit insurance fund through the special assessments and the Treasury, I expect they’ll try to resolve these faster throughout the remainder of the year.”

The national deposit insurer, which backstops accounts to avoid customers pulling their money from a bank and hastening its demise, previously avoided seizing two banks in the same metro area during this crisis.

The reason, industry insiders said, was to avoid the perception one geographic area was weaker than others in the country.

Yet as the financial condition of Georgia banks continue to weaken, industry analysts and experts said the velocity of Georgia’s bank failures would continue, if not accelerate.

Didn’t we see this movie LAST summer?
The Feds not stepping in,
managing PERCEPTIONS lest there be panic and market collapse? – Right before, you know- panic and market collapse?

Again, Not to worry –
Barry Likewater is on the Perception Management job now.
He’ll be on vaca next month up in the Vineyard.
I hear he can raise Michael Jackson from the dead.

You know, your comment about that reminds me of something I’ve noticed in recent weeks: the way that Dem partisans have been slipping back into a pattern of obsessive mocking and protesting against tried and true GOP figures/blowhards. It’s as if Obama is doing nothing to excite them, so they are returning to using Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh (and probably soon, Joe the Plumber) as voodoo dolls.

I find it very odd that the Pretzel chooses to engage by name agaisnt right wing media entities as well. And frankly Hannity Rush and others revel in it. Back in the primaries, The Corner sighed with joy when Ob spoke of them by name.

And it is very true the Dems spend alsmot as much and at some sites more time on the tired scarecrows… from Bachman to Palin (not so tired an image I will say) to Buchanan to infidelities… it is blared. [They just lost Coleman as eternal scarecrow. Now Franken is all theirs…]

Oh I see it as clear diversion. From congress, from Ob… from things as they really are. When they need to hit a Dem pinata for “balance” they go for Pelosi.

I have nto voted for her in years.. but let’s get real. They go for her and ignore a massively failing and unnattractrive REID. I say go for both. But they don’t.

You learn so much from reading the enemy’s official media. Read this account in the New York Times: “Still, administration officials said that they did not expect that the military would go so far as to carry out a coup. “There was talk of how they might remove the president from office, how he could be arrested, on whose authority they could do that,” the administration official said. But the official said that the speculation had focused on legal maneuvers to remove the president, not a coup.”

So the US Obama administration was for removing the president but not for a coup? Please explain that one.

hmm I first got onto this a few days ago in comments at Aravosis… and forgot to post it here. But luckily John A just did a post on it. (well he is fundraising right now on being ‘the big oppo’ to Ob… meanwhile the site covers Dem asses and misrepresents health care and climate and other “big issues”, etc.,)

ANYWAY!:

WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday he wants to make the law prohibiting gays from serving openly in the armed forces “more humane” until Congress eventually repeals it. He said he has lawyers studying ways the law might be selectively enforced.

“One of the things we’re looking at is, is there flexibility in how we apply this law?” Gates said.

The defense chief, a holdover from the Republican administration of former President George W. Bush, told reporters traveling with him in Europe that the Clinton-era ban was written without much wiggle room. The Pentagon general counsel is looking at potential avenues around full enforcement as a stopgap, Gates said.

For example, Gates said, the military might not have to expel someone whose sexual orientation was revealed by a third party out of vindictiveness or suspect motives. That would include, Gates said, someone who was “jilted” by the gay service member.

“That’s the kind of thing we’re looking at to see if there’s at least a more humane way to apply the law until the law gets changed,” Gates said, according to a transcript released by the Pentagon. snip

Horribly convoluted and dishonest.

Plus yesterday they decided to kick Choi out… I watched him here at the Gay Parade, he was Grand Marshall or whatever they call it… very strong person. Be interesting to watch what he does now.

President Barack Obama and his spokesmen say he remains committed to repealing the Clinton-era law known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” but neither the White House nor congressional leadership has moved swiftly to do so.

There is no timetable for the pending bill to repeal the 1993 law, which was intended as a compromise to get around a full ban on gay military service.

And you know those freaks in the WH did nto want to touch THIS one with a 10 foot pole. Support the troops! And, in convoluted fashion, the paintiff wins.

Obama White House not appealing transgender ruling

By NEDRA PICKLER – 8 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is not going to fight a nearly $500,000 judgment for a Library of Congress hiree who lost the job while undergoing a gender change from a man to a woman.

The Justice Department let the deadline to appeal the decision pass Tuesday, a day after President Barack Obama hosted gay supporters at the White House and promised to be their “champion.” Some activists have complained he has not led on their causes, including ending the ban on gays in the military.

Diane Schroer (SCHROH’–uhr), a retired Army Special Forces commander from Alexandria, Va., had been offered a job at the Library of Congress when he was a man, David Schroer. The job was rescinded the day after Schroer told a library official he was going to have an operation to become a woman.

A question, John [Aravosis]: should transgenders accept being “3/5″ of a gay person? I seem to recall you arguing vociferously that that we shouldn’t complain about being omitted from proposed statutory protections because to do so would force the rest of the GLBT community to wait for the rights we all deserve, but can’t be extended to everyone just now due to those pesky political realities?

there were a couple of comments today at Americablog that if and when Sully gets movement on ICE issues w/r/t HIV + immigrant status he will shut up. Think there is a good chance of that… with the odd post to refute that as an accusation.

He is already very very busy on Palin. She is edging out the fading (as in, I guess, tweets are falling off) Iran protests. He is now accusing her, carefully saying it is not something he cares about … of breaching “flag etiquette” with cites to support.

It is only overtaken by his invoking (he says with support from groups in AK) the Diagnositic Manual to Mental Disorders to prove she is insane.

And he is calling again for full release of her pregnancy medical records.

You know, your comment about that reminds me of something I’ve noticed in recent weeks: the way that Dem partisans have been slipping back into a pattern of obsessive mocking and protesting against tried and true GOP figures/blowhards

I was thinking the same thing. Have you counted the numerous FP posts over at dkos about Sanford? They’re as obsessive about him as CNN is about Michael Jackson.

During my time in Venezuela, I developed a cough that went on for three weeks and progressively worsened. Finally, after I had become incredibly congested and developed a fever, I decided to attend a Barrio Adentro clinic. The closest one available was a Barrio Adentro II Centro de Diagonostico Integral (CDI) and I headed in without my medical records or calling to make an appointment. Immediately, I was ushered into a small room where Carmen, a friendly Cuban doctor, began questioning me about my symptoms. She listened to my lungs and walked me over to another examination room where, again without waiting, I had x-rays taken. Afterwards, the technician walked me to a chair and apologized profusely that I had to wait for the x-rays to be developed, promising that it would take no more than five minutes. Sure enough, five minutes later he returned with both x-rays developed. Carmen studied the x-rays and informed me that I had pneumonia, showing me the telltale shadows. She sent me away with my x-rays, three medications to treat my pneumonia, congestion, and fever, and made me promise to come back if my conditioned failed to improve or worsened within three days.

I walked out of the clinic with a diagnosis and treatment within twenty-five minutes of entering, without paying a dime. There was no wait, no paperwork, and no questions about my ability to pay, my nationality, or whether, as a foreigner, I was entitled to free comprehensive health care. There was no monetary value connected with my physical well-being; the care I received was not contingent upon my ability to pay. I was treated with dignity, respect, and compassion, my illness was cured and I was able to continue with my journey in Venezuela.

This past year, a family friend was not so lucky. At the age of 56, she was going back to school and was uninsured. She came down with what she thought was a severe case of the flu, and as her condition worsened she decided not to see a doctor because of the cost. She died at home in bed, losing her life to a system that did not respect her basic human right to survive. Her death is not an isolated incident. Over 18,000 United States residents die every year because of their lack of prohibitively expensive health insurance. The United States has the distinct honor of being the “only wealthy industrialized nation that does not ensure that all citizens have coverage”.(8) Instead, we have commodified the public health and well being of those live in the US, leaving them on their own to obtain insurance. Those whose jobs do not provide insurance, can’t get enough hours to qualify for health care coverage through their workplace, are unemployed, or have “previously existing conditions” that exclude them from coverage are forced to choose between the potentially fatal decision of refusing medical care and accumulating medical bills that trap them in an inescapable cycle of debt. And sometimes, that decision is made for them. Doctors often ask that dreaded question; “do you have insurance?” before scheduling critical tests, procedures, or treatments. When the answer is no, treatments that were deemed necessary before are suddenly canceled as the ability to pay becomes more important than the patient’s health.

It is estimated that there are over fifty million United States residents currently living without health insurance, a number that will skyrocket as unemployment rates increase and people lose their work-based health care coverage in this time of international financial crisis.(10) Already this year, 7.5 million people have lost work-related coverage. Budget cuts for the state of Washington this year will remove over forty thousand people from Washington Basic Health, a subsidized program which already has a waiting list of seventeen thousand people.(11) As I returned to the US from Venezuela, I was faced with the realization that as a society, the United States places a monetary value on life. That we make life and death judgments based on an individual’s ability to pay. And that someone with the same condition I had recently recovered from had died because, according to our system, her life wasn’t insured.

Many in the United States fear that people would abuse a free health care system, causing overcrowding and a compromised level of care. Others claim that a single payer system would limit the freedoms of both doctor and patient. These claims, propagated by the corporate media in the United States, are a hollow attempt to keep those in the US from organizing to demand single payer health care. Primary care and preventative medicine are seen as the first steps towards sustainable universal health care, keeping people out of costly hospital stays, tests, and treatments down the road. Socializing the costs of medicine keeps costs low by preventing expensive treatments and health problems. It is difficult to understand how much quality, free health care means until you find yourself in a position of vulnerability and need. I felt a sense of security traveling in Venezuela that I do not feel in the United States; in Venezuela, there is a safety net ready to catch you when you fall. People in the US must ask themselves, as a country, where our values lie and how we have not only let people slip through the cracks but worked to systematically exclude them. Do we believe that insurance corporations and the medical industrial complex should be profiting from denying care and keeping sick people from receiving treatment? Or do we believe that care should be separate from an individual’s ability to pay? As a nation, we must embrace our humanity and value life over profits.

well the other hilarious thing about Biden being “assigned” Iraq… (I am laughing so hard, still over that bon bon from Ob) is that he was a strong strong supporter in the primaries of splitting Iraq. As was in his local run (for whatever fucking reason) Harold Ford Jr.

I took the message that strong elements in the Dem party are interested in breaking up Iraq. Probably along with their friends the Kurds. The “Other Iraq” as their business materials refer to themselves.

.. a lot of people made good money off Bernie, for a lot of years. THAT is one thing they don’t want to talk about.

I suspect the percentage you got varied according to how you came into the scam, who you knew… and if Bernie and Ruth and whomever “liked” you especially. Because the earnings seem to vary as one reads around. 8% there,… 12% over there… and higher numbers too.

Not that any of this is news, imo, its not. I have thought their take was down for sometime (Dems go to sleep when a Dem wins, old truths) … and of course they use the blogs. As the blogs love to be used. See saw.

Gee, no one could have guessed that one. Pam has a source inside the DNC that says they’re lucky if they raised $250,000, not $1m. Pam’s source also says that the DNC has pretty much written off doing anything of substance on gay issues until after “the election” – not clear if that means waiting until 2011, 2013, or the end of the Obama administration in 2016.

Pam’s insider adds:

[T]he blogs are closer to the truth [on how the Dems plan to handle gay issues] than the party wants us to know. They used the blogs to their advantage during the election, and now they’re trying to figure out how to control what’s become a nuisance for them. The current method for the fundraiser is by not telling the truth.

So.

Imprisoned journalist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal has been taken to the Intensive Care Unit of Schuylkill Medical Center in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, after he was removed from prison for a medical emergency without any notification to his family, friends or lawyers. Prison officials told his supporters he is in diabetic shock. We get an update f […]

Indiana is facing boycotts and fierce criticism following Gov. Mike Pence's new measure that could sanction discrimination by allowing business owners to refuse service to LGBT customers in the name of "religious freedom." Connecticut is the first state to officially boycott Indiana over the move, now San Francisco and Seattle have also impose […]

We look at the case of Frederic "Rick" Bourke, who is considered a whistleblower after he was imprisoned for exposing corruption and bribery in the oil-rich region of the Caspian Sea. Bourke is known for founding the luxury handbag company Dooney & Bourke and is a philanthropist who has invested his wealth into ventures seeking novel cures for […]

George Mitchell, the former senator and U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace under President Obama, joins us to discuss the escalating U.S.-Israel standoff over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign against an Iran nuclear deal and open rejection of the two-state solution. Last week, it emerged Israeli intelligence spied on the Iran talks and […]

About 40 mothers being held at an immigration detention camp in Karnes, Texas, have launched a hunger strike to protest the detainment of their children as the families await immigration…Click to Continue »

On Reality Asserts Itself, Craig and Cindy Corrie tell Paul Jay, "people find hope in the work that we're doing and in the fact that Rachel was there that day, and stood against what was happening to all of those families in the Gaza Strip"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that he would lift a hold on U.S. military aid to Cairo, but also said the United States would stop allowing Egypt to buy equipment on credit starting in fiscal year 2018.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republicans will push ahead with legislation reflecting their deep mistrust of a nuclear deal with Iran whatever the outcome of talks between Tehran and major powers in Switzerland, setting up further confrontation with President Barack Obama.

(Reuters) - Indiana's Republican Governor Mike Pence, responding to national outrage over the state's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act, said on Tuesday he will "fix" it to make clear businesses cannot use it to deny services to same-sex couples.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. House committee is seeking a private interview with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over her use of private email and a personal computer server while at the State Department, the panel said in a letter released on Tuesday.

Media

from Howl

I'm with you in Rockland
where we wake up electrified out of the coma
by our own souls' airplanes roaring over the
roof they've come to drop angelic bombs the
hospital illuminates itself imaginary walls collapse
O skinny legions run outside O starry
spangled shock of mercy the eternal war is
here O victory forget your underwear we're free
I'm with you in Rockland
in my dreams you walk dripping from a sea-
journey on the highway across America in tears
to the door of my cottage in the Western night

October 7 1955

"a remarkable collection of angelson one stage reading their poetry"
"I think Allen Ginsberg standing up there reading - putting himself on the line - was one of the two bravest things I've ever seen. Remember, it was '55. People had crew cuts, and they looked at you like you were misplaced cannon fodder. The country was being run by Luce publications. It was a dangerous, cold, ugly time, and it was scary. . .
In all our memories no one had been so outspoken in poetry before. We had gone beyond a point of no return. None of us wanted to go back to the grey, chill, militaristic silence, to the intellectual void - to the land without poetry - to the spiritual drabness. We wanted to make it new and we wanted to invent it and the process of it as we went into it. We wanted voice and we wanted vision."
-Michael McClure

Democrats…

Same as goddam fucking forever.
Over and over, in election year after election year, GE and MidTerms both… the Dems start to purr and preen, they stretch luxuriously - at just being TOLD they are going to win [...]
It never fails.
... in February of 2002, looking over the already joyless congressional stragglers willing to be drafted for duty… they barely dreamed, yet, it was even possible (Howard, a different person then, had not arrived to say it could be done)… but one thing was clear, we could not rely on the party to swing it. Could not. You could smell it, they would screw the deal. And I am not talking about Howard and primary issues here. By the end, that was a passing political story. Chuck it on the heap.
[...]
Upshot? The Republicans make it thru. They hold on.